2017 Consumer Confidence Report

2017 Consumer Confidence Report

Spanish (Espanol)

Is my water safe?

We are pleased to present this year's Annual Water Quality Report (Consumer
Confidence Report) as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This
report is designed to provide details about where your water comes from, what
it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies. This
report is a snapshot of last year's water quality. We are committed to
providing you with information because informed customers are our best allies.

Do I need to take special precautions?

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the
general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer
undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people
with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can
be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about
drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection
by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe
Water Drinking Hotline (800-426-4791).

Where does my water come from?

Our water comes from Atoka Lake.

Source water assessment and its availability

Drinking water, including bottle water, may reasonably be expected to contain
at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of . contaminants
does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information
about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA's
Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800-426-4791.

Why are there contaminants in my drinking water?

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain
at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does
not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about
contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Hotline
(800-426-4791). The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled
water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells.
As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it
dissolves naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive
material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or
from human activity:
microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, that may come from sewage
treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and
wildlife; inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be
naturally occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial, or
domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming;
pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as
agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses; organic Chemical
Contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are
by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come
from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems; and radioactive
contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas
production and mining activities. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to
drink, EPA prescribes regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants
in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must
provide the same protection for public health.

How can I get involved?

Atoka Municipal Authority meetings are held at 7:00 pm on the 1st and 3rd
Mondays of each month, excluding holidays, in the Atoka City Hall Council
Chambers at 353 East A Street.

Description of Water Treatment Process

Your water is treated in a "treatment train" (a series of processes
applied in a sequence) that includes coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation,
filtration, and disinfection. Coagulation removes dirt and other particles
suspended in the source water by adding chemicals (coagulants) to form tiny
sticky particles called "floc," which attract the dirt particles.
Flocculation (the formation of larger flocs from smaller flocs) is achieved
using gentle, constant mixing. The heavy particles settle naturally out of the
water in a sedimentation basin. The clear water then moves to the filtration
process where the water passes through sand, gravel, charcoal or other filters
that remove even smaller particles. A small amount of chlorine or other
disinfection method is used to kill bacteria and other microorganisms (viruses,
cysts, etc.) that may be in the water before water is stored and distributed to
homes and businesses in the community.

Water Conservation Tips

Did you know that the average U.S. household uses approximately 400 gallons
of water per day or 100 gallons per person per day? Luckily, there are many
low-cost and no-cost ways to conserve water. Small changes can make a big
difference - try one today and soon it will become second nature.

Take short showers - a 5
minute shower uses 4 to 5 gallons of water compared to up to 50 gallons
for a bath.

Shut off water while brushing
your teeth, washing your hair and shaving and save up to 500 gallons a
month.

Use a water-efficient
showerhead. They're inexpensive, easy to install, and can save you up to
750 gallons a month.

Run your clothes washer and
dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a
month.

Water plants only when
necessary.

Fix leaky toilets and
faucets. Faucet washers are inexpensive and take only a few minutes to
replace. To check your toilet for a leak, place a few drops of food
coloring in the tank and wait. If it seeps into the toilet bowl without
flushing, you have a leak. Fixing it or replacing it with a new, more
efficient model can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.

Adjust sprinklers so only
your lawn is watered. Apply water only as fast as the soil can absorb it
and during the cooler parts of the day to reduce evaporation.

Teach your kids about water
conservation to ensure a future generation that uses water wisely. Make it
a family effort to reduce next month's water bill!

Source Water Protection Tips

Protection of drinking water is everyone's responsibility. You can help
protect your community's drinking water source in several ways:

Eliminate excess use of lawn
and garden fertilizers and pesticides - they contain hazardous chemicals
that can reach your drinking water source.

Pick up after your pets.

If you have your own septic
system, properly maintain your system to reduce leaching to water sources
or consider connecting to a public water system.

Dispose of chemicals
properly; take used motor oil to a recycling center.

Volunteer in your community.
Find a watershed or wellhead protection organization in your community and
volunteer to help. If there are no active groups, consider starting one.
Use EPA's Adopt Your Watershed to locate groups in your community, or
visit the Watershed Information Network's How to Start a Watershed Team.

Organize a storm drain
stenciling project with your local government or water supplier. Stencil a
message next to the street drain reminding people "Dump No Waste -
Drains to River" or "Protect Your Water." Produce and
distribute a flyer for households to remind residents that storm drains
dump directly into your local water body.

Additional Information for Lead

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems,
especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is
primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home
plumbing. Atoka Water Treatment Plant is responsible for providing high quality
drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing
components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can
minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to
2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned
about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information
on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize
exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

Additional Information for Arsenic

While your drinking water meets EPA's standard for arsenic, it does contain low
levels of arsenic. EPA's standard balances the current understanding of
arsenic's possible health effects against the costs of removing arsenic from
drinking water. EPA continues to research the health effects of low levels of
arsenic which is a mineral known to cause cancer in humans at high
concentrations and is linked to other health effects such as skin damage and
circulatory problems.

Water Quality Data Table

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes
regulations which limit the amount of contaminants in water provided by public
water systems. The table below lists all of the drinking water contaminants
that we detected during the calendar year of this report. Although many more
contaminants were tested, only those substances listed below were found in your
water. All sources of drinking water contain some naturally occurring
contaminants. At low levels, these substances are generally not harmful in our
drinking water. Removing all contaminants would be extremely expensive, and in
most cases, would not provide increased protection of public health. A few
naturally occurring minerals may actually improve the taste of drinking water
and have nutritional value at low levels. Unless otherwise noted, the data
presented in this table is from testing done in the calendar year of the
report. The EPA or the State requires us to monitor for certain contaminants
less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants do not
vary significantly from year to year, or the system is not considered
vulnerable to this type of contamination. As such, some of our data, though representative,
may be more than one year old. In this table you will find terms and
abbreviations that might not be familiar to you. To help you better understand
these terms, we have provided the definitions below the table.

Contaminants

MCLG
or
MRDLG

MCL,
TT, or
MRDL

Detect In
Your Water

Range

Sample
Date

Violation

Typical Source

Low

High

Disinfectants &
Disinfection By-Products

(There is convincing
evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of
microbial contaminants)

Chlorite (ppm)

.8

1

.996

NA

.000763

2017

No

By-product of drinking
water disinfection

Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)
(ppb)

NA

60

49.3

24.8

49.3

2017

No

By-product of drinking
water chlorination

TTHMs [Total
Trihalomethanes] (ppb)

NA

80

77

35

63.3

2017

No

By-product of drinking
water disinfection

Total Organic Carbon (%
Removal)

NA

TT

65

NA

NA

2017

No

Naturally present in the
environment

Inorganic Contaminants

Arsenic (ppb)

0

10

0

NA

NA

2017

No

Erosion of natural
deposits; Runoff from orchards; Runoff from glass and electronics production
wastes

Routine and repeat samples are total coliform
positive and either is E. coli - positive or system fails to take repeat
samples following E. coli positive routine sample or system fails to analyze
total coliform positive repeat sample for E. coli.

0

NA

NA

2017

No

Erosion of natural
deposits; Runoff from orchards; Runoff from glass and electronics production
wastes

Total Coliform (RTCR) (%
positive samples/month)

NA

TT

NA

NA

NA

2017

No

Naturally present in the
environment

Contaminants

MCLG

AL

Your
Water

Sample
Date

# Samples
Exceeding AL

Exceeds AL

Typical Source

Inorganic Contaminants

Copper - action level at
consumer taps (ppm)

1.3

1.3

.182

2017

0

No

Corrosion of household
plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits

Inorganic Contaminants

Lead - action level at
consumer taps (ppb)

0

15

0

2017

0

No

Corrosion of household
plumbing systems; Erosion of natural deposits

Violations and
Exceedances

Unit Descriptions

Term

Definition

ppm

ppm: parts per million, or milligrams per liter
(mg/L)

ppb

ppb: parts per billion, or micrograms per liter
(µg/L)

% positive samples/month

% positive samples/month: Percent of samples taken
monthly that were positive

NA

NA: not applicable

ND

ND: Not detected

NR

NR: Monitoring not required, but recommended.

positive samples

positive samples/yr: The number of positive samples
taken that year

Important Drinking
Water Definitions

Term

Definition

MCLG

MCLG: Maximum Contaminant
Level Goal: The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is
no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.

MCL

MCL: Maximum Contaminant
Level: The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.
MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available
treatment technology.

TT

TT: Treatment Technique: A
required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking
water.

AL

AL: Action Level: The
concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or
other requirements which a water system must follow.

Variances and Exemptions

Variances and Exemptions:
State or EPA permission not to meet an MCL or a treatment technique under
certain conditions.

MRDLG

MRDLG: Maximum residual
disinfection level goal. The level of a drinking water disinfectant below
which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the
benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

MRDL

MRDL: Maximum residual
disinfectant level. The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking
water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is
necessary for control of microbial contaminants.